


Go Where You Go

by Cupcakemolotov



Series: come alive [57]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Step-siblings, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:53:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21507724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupcakemolotov/pseuds/Cupcakemolotov
Summary: Caroline is used to spending time in the hospital, just not as the patient.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Series: come alive [57]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/964005
Comments: 17
Kudos: 266





	Go Where You Go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Angelikah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelikah/gifts), [melsbels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/melsbels/gifts), [candycolamorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/candycolamorgan/gifts).



Caroline recognized the smell of the hospital before she registered anything else. Hazily wondering if she’d fallen asleep in the break room again, she blinked open her eyes and tried to understand what she was looking at. She was definitely in one of slightly less uncomfortable hospital beds, and one of the nurses had clearly brought her extra blankets. 

It was the loud beeping of machines and the pulse monitor on her finger told her that she was definitely not in the break room. The chill from the IV bag definitely sucked as much as she remembered from her last bout with food poisoning. But the biggest clue was the man sitting across from her with his eyes closed. 

Her step-brother wasn’t part of her usual hospital experience. Blinking hard to make sure he didn’t disappear, Caroline cleared her throat. “Klaus?”

His head lowered immediately from where it had been tipped back. He looked tired, the faint start of shadows beneath his eyes matching the days growth of beard he usually kept to much neater stubble. His clothing was disarrayed and didn’t quite match, as if he’d pulled everything on in a hurry, though she spotted a bag at his feet. 

“Caroline. How are you feeling, love?”

Bewildered, she shifted her weight and immediately regretted the decision to move. Her right ankle _hurt,_ though in a weird distant way. Glancing down at the end of the bed, she frowned. Was her foot in a sling? 

Finally recognizing the haze of pain killers for what they were, she looked back to Klaus and blinked hard. “What happened?”

“I was told things might be a bit fuzzy. You apparently took quite a knock to the head.” His eyes were sympathetic. “I’m supposed to ask what you remember before giving you details.”

She glared at his words and the curve of his mouth tilted at the edge. Huffing, Caroline tried to remember specific details. “Yesterday was Tuesday. We operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our last patient’s procedure took longer than anticipated.” Caroline paused, and then frowned. “I took an Uber home.”

A hint of ire crossed his eyes but quickly disappeared. She appreciated his restraint. It was a fight they’d had before. None of her step-family seemed to appreciate that she was on a strict budget and would be for another two years. She was not spending thousands of dollars a year on a car service. Most of them had been smart enough to drop the subject after she’d shut Elijah down, but Klaus was stubborn. 

“The Uber didn’t make it,” Klaus finally filled in once it was clear she was done talking. “We had a bit of inclement weather come through yesterday. There was just enough sleet to make the roads slippery. I imagine you didn’t notice if you were in a procedure for several hours.”

Caroline pulled a face. “They moved the pick up zone to a different location in a garage. I didn’t even look outside, it’s been freezing for days.”

Klaus nodded. “My understanding is the other driver had just received his license; he over corrected.”

“Is he okay?”

“A tad traumatized though uninjured.” His face made it clear just how much sympathy he didn’t have for the boy. 

Caroline worked her lip between her teeth and tried to remember the events he described. Finally, shaking her head, she sighed. “I don’t remember the wreck.”

He nodded. “I’m sure someone will do a concussion test on you once they know you’re awake. You’re going to be here for a bit I’m afraid.”

She grimaced. “Is my chart close by? What’s the damage?”

Klaus gave her a long look. “I’m told doctors make terrible patients. Particularly surgeons.”

“I’ve completed five of my seven years of residency, _after_ acing four years of med school,” she pointed out reasonably. “I can _read_ a chart, Klaus. Have they scheduled an x-ray for my ankle? It definitely feels like something that needs to be looked at if they haven’t. Moving it was not awesome.”

Both of his brows lifted even as his mouth tightened at her admittance of it hurting. “You operate on brains, love. Not ankles. Let the doctors who _have_ finished their schooling do their job.”

She scowled, carefully shifting into a more comfortable position. She knew that look. He was determined to be stubborn. “Why are you here exactly?”

“Ah, now that’s a bit of a story.” His fingers folded across his lean abdomen, and Klaus leaned back with a hint of something unreadable in his eyes. “Rebekah called me sometime in the early hours of the morning in quite the panic. You can imagine my surprise when she insisted that I make my way to the hospital. She was quite insistent that you were a patient instead of a doctor.”

“Rebekah?” Caroline repeated, brows furrowing. “Isn’t she in Milan?”

“Rome this week.”

That sounded about right. “So why did she call? Bonnie is my emergency contact.”

The flicker of emotion she had seen earlier was back and she didn’t know what to make of it. “So I was made aware.”

Squinting, she frowned at him. “Klaus. Seriously? Details.”

A hint of a smile touched his mouth and his shoulders finally seemed to loosen. “Your friend Bonnie called Rebekah. She is apparently on a business trip and not in the city, and whatever details were given to her were apparently not adequate.”

“Oh no.”

The gleam behind his gaze shifted to amusement. “While I appreciate _why_ you’ve chosen not to make Bekah your emergency contact, you should perhaps consider adding her to your list. When she was unable to get additional information out of your nursing staff, she called me. Frantic and certain you were dying. You’re lucky I’m the only one stateside currently.”

She tried to disappear under the blankets. “Please tell me you’re the only one she called.”

“I’m afraid not.”

Caroline pressed her face into her pillow and groaned. “Noooo.”

“Hmm, yes.” Klaus said with a hint of laughter in his voice. “Finn put his foot down on the plane fetching Rebekah and Kol, as he is currently using it. Coming home would ruin his plans, though I’m sure Sage will sure will send a lovely bouquet of flowers.”

She groaned again, shoving her overly warm face into her pillow. There was a creak of a chair, and then Klaus’ warm hand curled around hers. “Caroline.”

She peaked at him, and a dimple creased his cheek. “Elijah and I both agree that having Kol and Rebekah around will just make matters worse. He’ll handle their dramatics. You, on the other hand, will have to deal with me.”

Underneath the rush of embarrassment from his teasing, her heart started to pound. Behind her, the heart monitor sped up and Klaus glanced at it with a curious expression. “It’s not that bad, love.”

Caroling snorted and pressed her free hand to burning cheek. “Says _you_. I miss being an only child. How long did it take you to charm your way past the staff? How did you even get in here? I’m pretty sure we aren’t in visiting hours.”

His smile was abrupt and dimpled, and something tightened in her chest. Her lips part but a loud crash in the hallway had his head swiveling, and it briefly gave her a chance to study his face. Of all her inherited family, Klaus was the one she struggled with the most. Mostly because she never actually managed to look at him as a brother, and no matter how she tried to ignore it, there was a spark of chemistry there that never went away. 

It helped that he hadn’t been around when she’d been trying to acclimate to his family. 

Her mom had married Mikael the spring of her sophomore year of high school. At the time, the custody agreement had her spending her summers with Liz and the school year with Bill. So Caroline hadn’t been around for the dramatics of their meeting - her mom had written the visiting recently widowed businessman a ticket for speeding, and he’d asked her to dinner. 

Shockingly, Liz had said yes. 

And while Caroline had approved the hallmark romance, she hadn’t liked the Mikaelson children’s suspicions about her mom. Her new step-dad had been loaded, and though there was a prenup in place, it’d been clear his kids had viewed Liz as a gold digger. She’d gritted her teeth because while Mikael was overbearing and not particularly kind to his older children, he’d been besotted with her mom. 

Since she’d spent her summers with her mom, she’d moved into Mikael’s giant house once they’d gotten back from their honeymoon. It had been her, her mom, her new step-dad and three of his five kids. That first summer post-wedding has been rough for everyone. Rebekah had hated no longer being the only girl, Kol had been a little shit, and Elijah has loomed like a silent specter of judgement. Finn, thankfully, had declined coming home from his fancy English University. 

Caroline had learned to adjust to a sort of territorial Cold War with Steven’s daughter, she thought she could handle the new family. At least at her new place she didn’t have to share a bathroom. But Rebekah and Kol were dramatic and nosey, and having a younger brother was not something she enjoyed. At all. Her summer plan for cramming in college credits in the peace and quiet had evaporated, the staff kept trying to clean her spotless bathroom, and Kol thought his pranks were funny. She’d gone back to school vowing to hate all of them to her grave. 

But not before she’d eked out a little revenge on her own. Her mom had called her when she’d landed in Atlanta and conveyed her disappointment that they’d had to shave Kol’s head, but Caroline hadn’t cared. He’d deserved it. And if he’d thought she’d be over his dickery by the time she got back, he’d been _very_ mistaken. 

Klaus hadn’t been around for any of that. He was a half-brother to Mikael’s kids, and when Esther had died, his Dad, Ansel, had wrangled custody. Both Rebekah and Kol had seemed bitter about it, but she had noted that both got regulars texts from him. It had been a few years before she’d met him properly, which likely contributed to her lack of familial feelings for him.

Sometimes she still wasn’t sure how she started to care about the Mikaelsons. They were all trust fund babies who were usually was missing the common sense God gave children, but she loved them anyway. But those first two summers, such a thing had seemed impossible. 

But then her mom had gotten sick. 

Not wanting to dredge up those memories, Caroline glanced down at his hand still covering her own and her lips curved at the sight of paint streaked across his knuckles. “I thought you’d sworn off painting until you recovered from the last gallery.”

“I had an idea or two that wouldn’t leave me alone,” he responded vaguely. “The curse of a muse, I’m afraid.”

She snorted and let her eyes close. “Rebekah will murder you if you end up painting through Christmas again.”

“So says the surgeon who keeps volunteering to cover the holiday shifts for her fellow residents. Avoiding us?”

Her eyes popped open. “What?”

His fingers slid through hers when she would have pulled back, squeezing lightly. “While you were asleep I had a number of very concerned junior residents who all wanted to assure me that they’d cover your shifts until you are back on your feet. They all drew straws to see who would take over the holiday dates this year, since your upcoming surgery will leave you unable to cover this year.”

“Surgery?” Caroline yelped, fingers tightening on his. “Klaus, _where_ is my chart?”

“I’m sure the doctors will explain everything when they come in,” Klaus said without a hint of remorse. “Your minions were all quite concerned.”

She dug her nails into the back of his hand. “Why did they even talk to you about this? I don’t have you on _any_ of my paperwork. They _so_ know better.”

His smile was slow and satisfied. “One of them recognized me from some pictures on your phone from the night of my gallery. She wanted to know if we were dating.”

She refused to blush. The picture he was speaking of had been one that Rebekah had taken of them and sent her the next day with several pointed emojis. Something about the way Klaus had been looking at her, the placement of his hand on her hip, had left her breathless when she’d seen it the next day. 

“I’m going to murder them.”

His laugh was soft and his expression was fond as he studied her disgruntled face. “So _are_ you avoiding us, then?”

“It’s not avoiding when no one is here,” she pointed out in exasperation, tugging on his hand. “Christmas isn’t exactly your family's favorite holiday.”

Mikael’s first wife, Esther, and their younger brother Henrik, had been killed in a car crash on Christmas Eve. It had not been a cheerful holiday for the family since. Caroline grimaced a little and supposed she could let Rebekah’s dramatics of her recent accident go under those circumstances. Another holiday car accident was going to be hard on her sister. 

“Be as that may…” Klaus started, and she cut him off. 

“My mom was married to Mikael for less than four years before she passed. I didn’t like _any_ of you for years. I’m still iffy on how Rebekah and I become friends, much less family. With Mikael gone, there isn’t much reason for you lot to stick around.”

Klaus tipped his head, studying her. “In this family, liking each other isn't necessarily a prerequisite, as you know. And I don’t recall you ever asking us if we have plans. Particularly since you moved back to Chicago to start you residency. Strange, since we are so close together.”

She blinked at him. “Should I have? Finn only tolerates me because I never ask for money. Can you _imagine_ his face if I rang him up and asked him what the plans were for him and Sage over Christmas? Actually, you know what? Maybe I should do it. He’s been a dick to Kol lately.”

“Finn is a pillock.”

“He really is,” she agreed. “I kept hoping getting laid regularly would pull that stick out of his ass but it didn’t.” 

Klaus’ lips pressed together in a clear struggle to fight a smile. “Kol has expressed a similar sentiment, if I recall. Directly to Finn.”

“I bet that went well,” Caroline muttered, gaze brightening. “I’m sorry to have missed it.”

“You do dodge us.”

“Ha!” Caroline said at his droll tone. “You’re just jealous I have better excuses than you. Elijah stopped trying to talk me into his get together after I fell asleep on his couch after a nightmare shift and missed dinner entirely. I’m pretty sure he only invited me then because he has some weird sense of obligation.”

His look was amused. “And to think Elijah likes you. Can’t say the same for the rest of us, he’s made a comment or two that makes it clear he only tolerated our antics.”

She snorted. “Sure. And even if he does, can you imagine Christmas with Elijah? He had a dress code for _everything_. I don’t have the energy for the kind of outfit with he’d require for Christmas dinner. He’d want fancy footwear with a pretty dress and I just want my comfy Christmas pajamas. Last year I ordered in Chinese and ate out of the cartons for three days. Does he know what good take out looks like?”

“He isn’t quite that bad.”

Catoline rolled her eyes. “The last time he caught me watching hallmark romances, I could _feel_ him radiating his disapproval on the other side of the mausoleum he calls a home.”

Klaus blinked. “He let you near the remote? He hides it now, because of Kol.”

“Apple TV.” She waved her hand. “As if it was hard to figure out. And for the rest of your siblings? Last I heard from Kol he was sleeping his way through culinary school and ignoring my warnings about gonorrhea being a superbug. I honestly cannot believe people actively touch him, but whatever. And Bekah? We both know we won’t see hide nor hair of her until she’s finished rage shopping after what’s his name had the audacity to break up with her before the holiday season.”

Her face darkened as she realized she was going to miss being Rebekah’s wingman for the upcoming parties. She would be determined to be seen this year, looking particularly hot, and whatever his name was would have a lot of regrets very soon. While she would welcome the rest, she’d been toying with an idea or two to make him regret his choices. 

Oh well. Maybe she’d drag Enzo along to one of their parties once she was back on her feet. He seemed to like Rebekah and a little harmless flirting might brighten her day. 

Klaus’ expression had turned speculative. “And me? What box have you conveniently put me into?”

She bit her lip, trying to find the words to describe Klaus. Her first real memory of I him had been at her mom’s funeral. He’d sat next to her, warm and silent while his siblings had crowded around Mikael. She’d appreciated that. 

She had appreciated it again five years later when he’d sat with her at her dad’s funeral. By then, she and Rebekah had somehow become _friends_ and not just step-sisters. They’d ended up at the same university, abd Caroline thought Rebekah would pretend she didn’t exist. 

She hadn’t. And somewhere in those four years of her undergrad, she’d started thinking of Rebekah, and sometimes Kol, as family. Actually having a quasi sister she liked had been weird. 

So when Rebekah had dragged her two favorite brothers with her to the Bill’s service, Caroline hadn’t been surprised. There was a lot of squish under Rebekah’s bitch. That the Mikaelson siblings had stayed after the service and helped her sort her Dad’s things, acting as a barrier against Steven’s grief and his daughter’s icy anger? It’d been nice. 

And after that, she’d stopped fighting them so hard on family dinners. Rebekah and Kol took turns bribing her into attending anyway, and she did like Elijah for all her complaints about his stuffiness. Even Finn’s attitude had become far more tolerable when she’d gotten into her residency of choice, but Klaus?

Klaus was the brother Rebekah drunk dialed to complain about her terrible dates from Caroline’s couch while refusing to drink a glass of water. He was the one who quietly glowered when she refused to get a car service instead of an Uber after late night shifts at her hospital. He was a little mean, exasperated at her most of the time and he had a with a truly _terrible_ sense of humor. But sometimes the way he looked at her left her skin prickling. She thought about him in his suit at his art gallery, his hands and his lips, a little too often to be sisterly. 

Klaus was dangerous to her sanity, and letting him know that was probably playing with fire. If she let him in and it went badly, holidays were going to be a nightmare. But she was starting to wonder if it was worth the risk. 

“We’re friends,” she said slowly, finally answering his question. “Kind of.”

His thumb ran across her knuckles, but the hint of heat in his gaze left her pulse thudding. “Of a sort,” he agreed slowly.

“And you’re usually not here,” Caroline continued as if the motion of his hand hadn’t shifted to something more like a caress. “But hey, I’m sure I can find super tacky pajamas in your size if you’re feeling left out.”

“Your concern is noted,” Klaus said dryly, but there was something satisfied about his expression as he leaned back, fingers still tangled with hers. “But I’m sure I’ll live without your idea if tacky pajamas.”

“I might do it anyway,” she threatened. His expression was unimpressed, and she struggled to hold in a laugh. Shifting her weight, she winced as her ankle throbbed with the motion. 

Glancing at his watch, Klaus tipped his head as he clearly considered what he wanted to say. “The nurses should be here in another half hour or so for your next dose of meds. I’m expecting the on call doctor half an hour after that.”

She tugged at his hand, gaze narrowing. “ _Why_ do you expect him?”

He met her gaze steadily, dimple peeking from one cheek as his lips curved. “I spoke to him earlier.”

Caroline spluttered. “Klaus!”

He held up his free hand. “You were unconscious. Other than a brief discussion of what to expect in terms of pain management, they didn’t have much to offer at the time. Your ankle is a bit of a mess, sweetheart. It’s likely to need surgery, but you can quiz the doctor on those details once he arrives.”

She closed her eyes and tried to calculate what that meant for her residency and groaned. “God dammit.”

“It’ll work out. I have no doubt you’ll talk your bosses into what you need,” Klaus said soothingly, clearly understanding why she was upset. “You’re nothing if not persuasive.”

Caroine cracked a smile. “Thanks.”

He made a low noise of agreement and studied her face. “I’d like you to think about temporarily staying with either Rebekah or me once you’re out of here.”

“What? No!”

“Caroline,” he said patiently. “The elevator in your building has needed repairs twice in the last year, and _Rebekah_ has been known to take the stairs to avoid using them. You’re on the seventh floor and she’s never met a sensible pair of shoes she has liked in her life. We have doorman who can assist with anything you need brought in, and your mobility will be limited. Think about it.”

She pressed her lips together tightly for a long moment before nodding. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Klaus murmured. Finally releasing her hand, he leaned over and dug through the bag at his feet. He came up with an iPad and offered it to her. “Your phone hasn’t been recovered, but this should tide you over for a bit. If you’re eyes start hurting, put it down. No need to aggravate that possible conclusion.”

Smiling brightly at his bribe, she took it before fumbling with the remote to adjust the bed so she could comfortably sit up. Her ankle was heavily wrapped and she knew the discussion coming would be a fun one, and she really was sore,but it wasn’t the conversation bouncing around the back of her mind. Glancing at Klaus from the corner of her eye, she let herself look at him. 

Rumpled, tired and a lot scruffy, she wanted to smooth his curls in a decidedly non-sisterly way. 

After a moment, his gaze caught hers in question and she shook her head. Turning to one of the game apps she knew Klaus despised, something warm filled her chest. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be able to avoid whatever was growing between her and Klaus forever. 

And for the first time, she was looking forward to seeing what that could mean. 


End file.
